Centre Happenings

Lego Therapy

Our aim at The Champion Centre is to ensure that our services meet the needs of the tamariki and whānau who join us, and that they are evidence based and aligned with best practice. Along with our core offerings, we have recently introduced an addition to our services, to meet the needs of a small number of children. It's a Lego Therapy Group!

​What is Lego Therapy?
Lego Therapy is a group based social skills intervention designed specifically for children with social communication difficulties. It can be intrinsically motivating because it draws on children’s interests to promote the development of social, communication and play skills. In Lego Therapy, children work together to build Lego models in pairs or small groups, with the task divided into different roles.  The division of labour with a common purpose allows children to practice joint attention, turn-taking, sharing, joint problem solving, listening and general social communication skills.

By establishing clear job roles, Lego Therapy ensures the involvement of all children in the targeted outcome of building the Lego model. This is combined with peer instruction and peer modelling which are key features of social skills interventions. Peer mediated interventions have been highlighted as a potentially versatile and effective intervention approach for individuals with social communication challenges across social, communicative and academic outcomes. Lego Therapy has a good evidence base and research* has concluded that peer mediated interventions were highly effective at promoting social interactions in young children with these specific needs.

Lego Therapy at The Champion Centre
Late last year we trialled a 5-session block of a Lego Therapy Group for 4 children currently enrolled in the service. Children were identified by teams, based on their needs and the match with therapy goals. Sessions were team-led by one of our Speech Language Therapists, Chloe and  supported by our Clinical Director, Lauren. They began with attention building activities, for example 'bucket time' where a 'mystery' object is slowly revealed from a bucket (creating attention and anticipation), before moving into a Lego Therapy session and a free play Lego session.
 
During the Lego Therapy component, children began by building a mini figure of their choosing. After they completed their mini figure build, they took turns giving each other comments about something they liked in the other’s figure. Once concluded, the children participated in a group build. The object to be built was pre-chosen by Chloe, who also handed out the roles for the week (Builder, Supplier, Engineer). Once the group build was complete, the children moved into Free Play. In the Free Play component, we had a big box of Lego bricks spread out on the floor and children we able to build anything of their choosing. They were supported by Lauren and Chloe when necessary; adults also engaged in interactive Lego play with the children, fostering group interaction, shared imagination, and connection.

A parent/caregiver attended each week with their child. Parents were encouraged to be wherever they thought was best. In some cases, a child required parental presence throughout. In other cases, children were settled and engaged without parental presence and those parents typically took some time to connect with one another outside of the group.  Sessions lasted approximately one hour.

​We ran a new group this term with equal success and are now embarking on an extended group. 
*Lego Therapy and the social use of language programme, by G. Owens 2008.

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